Marketing your Film in 2012

        After reviewing the top grossing movies of 2012, I noticed a peculiar little trend within them. Movies that started marketing way before with posters and multiple trailers got a higher gross in the theaters. Movies are beginning to market almost two years early with trailers posters and other promotional material, but what works? How do you keep your market interested and get them all in the seats for the movie. Prometheus created viral videos that gave viewer a unique perspective on what the movie was about and suffered lower numbers in the box office, while John Carter, had one trailer that may be the most confusing trailer ever and even though the movie had a budget of 260 million, it only made a little over 60 million in the box office.  The Avengers created several trailers that people watch, shared, and talk about on the internet, along with The Dark Knight Rises, which also created trailers that in each new release had a small new scene or shot that kept people talking and discussing what was to come in the new movie. Both of these movies will probably be neck and neck when the box office sales are given out from the dark knight.

More trailers more money

Keeping the public involved and part of the movie is the best way to increase ticket sales. However, the brand its self is also super important. Prometheus and John Carter are nowhere near as well known stories than the avengers and batman. However, if they were to create more content they could bring more people to see their movie. By increasing trailers and bringing a little bit more from the movie, the viewer can share trailers and talk about them with friends and get more people at the theaters. 

 Don’t just give a trailer

Cut together multiple ones showcasing new footage every time. Find new avenues like an old TV show called LOST. While their six seasons were running viewers could log onto their website and also find webpages made just for the show. You could go to the airlines website or a website for the dharma initiative. Im waiting for the mobile application marketplace to blow up with limited time application for movies. Interact with anything from the movie, follow progress, and buy tickets for the opening night. 

            Make sure people know what it's about

You don’t have to give all the cool parts away to get what the movie is about ot the audience. But you do want to make sure what they see in the trailer is entertaining and informative. John Carter’s trailer was a prime example of what it is like to not know what is going on in the story. So much money was put into the film and when friends, relatives, and coworkers all looked at the trailer they were left thinking what is that even about. I don’t get it. After their initial response the thought of that seeing that movie quickly faded away and most of the united states agrees.

Creating a film isn’t just about what is looks like on screen but it also includes getting your film distributed and watched by others. Because of the technology improving each year people are looking for more than just one trailer that looks cool. They want trailers, websites, videos, and anything else that will keep them wanting to know more and then finally to go see the movie.  

My Journey to getting my Masters in Entertainment Business

Well before I get started I want to give you some backstory. My Name is Alex and I graduated from high school in 2009 and jumped right into college attending Full Sail University for a Bachelor Degree in Film. Almost two years later I was graduating with my Bachelor of Science and then on to my Masters in Entertainment Business. I wanted to posses not only the skills I needed for being on the set of a production but also know how a production was put together, who did it, and what was their job like. All of these questions and more needed to be answered. So I got on board and less than two weeks after I graduated I was starting my masters.

Month 1 – Media Research and Methodologies

Our first class was online and called Media Research and Methodology. This was about researching and getting the skills and know how to accomplish your market data, industry statistics, and other important research for your final project business plan. We also learned that being plugged into social media is a good thing. By giving people a place to go to when ever they want to see your product and what you have to offer gives you a fighting chance with those huge competitors and establish people in the industry.

Month 2 – Executive Leadership

This class taught us leadership and we learned Leadership through two outlets, green or Maxwell. Some of us ran for Greene, memorizing the laws as if it was a bible to them. Others were more expressive and dealt more with Maxwell and his view of making others happy to get what you want. Both of these books were for us to find out what leader we wanted to be and not which way was better.   We also learned through studying our past and present leaders, giving presentations on their methods to success, how they became a leader and what kind of things they have done that make them a leader.  This was our first class together and our class had only seven people in it. It was easy to understand and connect with students because of the small size. Our teacher Steve Adkins gave us valuable insight to becoming the true and best leader that you can be.

Month 3 – Project and Team Management

After we learned who we were as leaders it was time to work together. Its was like taking all the chiefs and making them work together. After giving us this sense of leadership the tables were turned and a new set of skills had to emerge, being able to let others lead at times and working together. We also learn that in a business, team-building exercises are amazing and here is a link to some. I also like to call them icebreakers and they are very efficient and that website offers even more than just icebreakers.

http://www.teampedia.net/wiki/index.php?title=Category:Icebreakers/Warmups

California Collection

Todays Blog is going to focus on a trip to California I recently took. I have a lot of photographs that display certain techniques and I have some tips and tricks when shooting stills.  I’m also going to discuss what lenses I used for what. Don’t worry one of them is the standard lens that comes with most Canon Rebels.  However, I also own a very inexpensive 50mm, F1.8 Prime lens.  My favorite lens by far, but I will go into that after the break along with the showcase of the pictures.

America's Got Talent Review: San Francisco

From left to right, Nick Cannon, Sharon Osbourne,
Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel

After getting to work for 5 of the audition cities, one being San Fran, I was ecstatic when I got to see some old friends. Granny G, Funk Beyond control, David and his CMYKs, Mars, and others all brought their “A” game to the stage in San Francisco. America's Got Talent airs Monday and Tuesdays at 9/8c!

Granny G got put through and her act is rapping about traditional values. When she first got to the audition city and I got to register her she was above and beyond nice. She was cool and I was blown away that she was a rapper. If you missed the whole song there is a YouTube music video she made of it. I’m not sure if Granny G is going to win but this is great PR for her new career and if she were to release an album, I’d buy it. Check out her video below!

The Avengers

     

As everyone has heard the Avengers has become a hit in the theaters. I was fortunate enough to go to the Avenger’s Movie Marathon at Downtown Disney. It was an all day event, 6 movies in one day. First was Iron Man, then the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, Captain America, and then the final midnight release of The Avengers. The Avengers was amazing, not only were the scenes packed with action there was drama and surprisingly a good amount of comedy, With the help of Tony Stark a.k.a. Iron Man, The Avengers set a new standard for action films. While reading my Google Reader I found a ton of articles about The Avengers. My main highlight will be a video with the sound recorder and mixer of The Avengers talking about certain scenes and what is was like working with on The Avengers. The video is posted below and is worth the watch. There is also some other links that take you to behind the scenes photos and more. If there is anything to say to recommend The Avengers is that one, this movie not only battles good vs evil, it shows you what each super hero is capable of, highlights each one of their strengths and weaknesses, and best of all you get to see them battle each other. After they realize that they are important and needed the come together to fight the evil that is afoot. I will gladly be seeing the movie again in theaters.Click the link and Enjoy the video. 

Will the Online Streaming Service HBOGo keep Cable TV alive?

Online Streaming Services HBOGo

 Being the world 11^th most innovative company by FastCompnay HBO is setting up and new type of streaming that you have to have cable to get it. For a while after Netflix and Hulu took off there was talk about cable getting replaced but not anymore, HBO has started a service called HBOGo. It is a streaming service that is offered to HBO Paying members (so people who pay for HBO with their cable provider) streaming of movies and show from an apple tv, xbox, and many more, and its EXCLUSIVE. They do not share their content with any other provider, so if you want to watch it you have to get cable and HBO. HBOGo is becoming a huge talking point to people who are interested in the shows. People want to see their content on Netflix and Hulu but in a recent article HBO made it clear that there was not going to be any content of theirs on Netflix or Hulu anytime soon. With 30 million subscribers to HBO they aren’t hurting for more sales. What they are doing is keeping people plugged into cable TV and it is very interesting. If HBO were to offer its content to Netflix and Hulu what is stopping the current subscribers from canceling their service and going to streaming, It would be cheaper. I’ve seen HBOGo and interacted with it and it’s amazing. A five start streaming content app that lets you watch great movies and great shows. It also has an interesting category called Collections and it offers a wide variety of different genre specific films. All in All this is something that is keeping people plugged into cable and with its success I wonder if other companies like Showtime, Cinamax, and others will use this type of model for their content. 

Troika Seminar

Negotiating and Producing

An Interview with President of Detour Entertainment, Producer Chris Green

Chris Green, President, DetourEntertainment

After reading Getting to yes, I realized that compromising wasn’t the only way to go, and that people can actually come to mutual agreements through joint brainstorming (another term used in Beyond Reason.) I have been finding real life examples through media and the Internet but I got a one on one talk with a local producer who reassured me of some of the key points in both books I mentioned. Chris Green is a local producer who is the founder of the Entertainment group, Detour Entertainment.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

For the past few months I’ve been seeing this title for a movie coming out and I finally got to watch the trailer, it looks awesome. If the chemistry is there this movie might be extremely moving. It is about a boy who looses his farther to the tragedy on September 11, 2001. But after finds a key that he must find the lock it goes to. Searching for anything that could bring him closer to his dad.  I think this film will be something like Little Miss Sunshine or Sunshine Cleaning. A movie that when you leave the theater you leave happy for what you have and who you are.This movie also seems like a comeback movie for two falling stars.

Martin Scorsese and 3D

I read an article about Martin Scorsese and how he has dipped his fingers in about every different kind of genre and then I found out he was switching to 3D for his movies. He said because of his experiences with his recent feature Hugo, he has 3D in mind with his next movie. 3D is a touchy subject to some and in my opinion more like a fad. It comes and goes but never really catches on. Maybe I’m wrong, but Scorsese wants to use the 3D as a tool that adds depth as a story telling technique.  I like Scorsese because his films are about the emotion, acting, and the story. I’m just not sure if 3D fits in.  However, back to the article about Martin Scorsese and his ability to fit into all genres of film. Below is an info graphic pointing out different films in certain genres that Martin Scorsese goes through. From Who’s That Knocking at My Door to Boardwalk Empire, Scorsese has done it all. He is also the founder and chairman of The Film Foundation, which has restored more that 550 old movies.

Ed Ulbrich: How Benjamin Button got his face | Video on TED.com

Very Cool. 

Elizabeth Gilbert on nurturing creativity

“I'm going to keep writing anyway because that's my job. And I would please like the record to reflect today that I showed up for my part of the job.”

After watching this speaker I felt like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulder and that I could actually be ok with the path that I am taking and the choices I am making. I have always had the worst luck with getting that idea and it never came at the right time and one reason could have been focus but I think the opportunities and choices that I am making now are inspiring me and creating that creativity. Attitude is what I feel like its about. A huge part of going through life is your attitude is going to decide a lot. Being able to just brush off the loss or failure and get back up to start working on the next product is the best feeling ever. But it doesn’t happen all the time and its like Elizabeth was saying, it just come to you and it unexplainable. I think that this is touching on a subject that I am really concerned about. When are we going to adopt better teaching methods? I’ve written about that more in the read more section but needless to say I’ve been inspired so much by this ted talk that every Thursday I’ll post different Ted talk that I think is worth watching. Tune in next Thursday for Thursday is Ted Day!

My First Inforgraphic

I just finished an Inforgraphic for class and wanted to post it so you guys could see. Its about how the majority of people going to the movies is way smaller than what it should be. Only 33 million people go to the movies twice or more and its upsetting. the movies are structured to fit their needs, not the other 144 million people who only go maybe once a month. Hope you enjoy!

The MoMa and the movies

Well for my birthday I'll be asking for a plane ticket to NYC to go to the MoMa, or Museum of Modern Art. Twitch Film.com recently posted that in November the MoMa will screen films that focus on the early Hollywood pictures of Spencer Trey.

Films include Face in the Sky, Man’s Castle, Quick Millions, Bottoms Up and “Now I’ll Tell” by Mrs. Arnold Rothstein. They are also celebrating the distributor Fortissimo Films and their legacy of bringing Asian films to an international audience. Full Info and Tickets Here. The last thing is their annual Best Film Not Playing At A Theater Near You. From the 18^th to the 21^st

USC to restore and release John Carpenter’s first student film

Last month at USC a man by the name of Dine Everett stumbled upon a very interesting roll of film. It was John Carpenter’s first student film called Captain Voyeur.  This 8-minute short follows a man at a boring computer job who eyes a woman at work and followers her home. He dons a mask and attempts to kill her but is shot by his co-worker. 

Visually Stunning vs Story driven

I’ve noticed after reading the MPAA’s theatrical market statistics for 2010 that there has been a 5% decline in the number of tickets sold per year. The lowest it has been since 2008.  Its crazy, even though there are so many factors that contribute to the loss in sales, one that is starting to arise is I think people are getting tired of the big budget movies that have high CG and baldy written features. Everything is becoming so unoriginal and the studios are using way too many special effects and aren’t providing enough content (story, acting, direction).

The Raven

     Seeing how comic books are all the rage right now, why not go to short story and novels. In the latest news from Total Films John Cusack will be staring in The Raven, a movie made from Edgar Allen Poe's Short stories. John will be a detective who is uncovering murders done like in Edgar Allen Poe's book. The Director James McTeigue says he wants to stay away from the idea of it being like the movie saw and have his movie more compared to the Se7en. Comparing the two right off the bat there are similarities, unlike saw where the main character is testing his victims and in Se7en where he is killing people based off the seven deadly sins, just like The Raven, where two detectives are searching for a killer killing based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. If you are unfamiliar with the works of Mr. Poe i suggest you check out this link. 

George Clooney and Set Etiquette

Everyone the wheels are spinning and a script is being written. I hope I have a rough by the end of the week. But I read an article about a new movie coming out called the ides of March. Matt Chapman from Total Film talks about this movie and one of the lead actresses talks about what she feels make a good environment on set. She talks about how George Clooney is a great director because he makes everything fun on set and its relaxed. But at the end of the article

Busy Weekend

      Ok so I went into my closet in my office and decided to take out one of the books I got from my film degree. Its called The Guerilla Film makers Movie Blueprint by. Chris Jones. I’ve been reading the producers blue print and realizing that this weekend is going to be a a lot of work for me. Now that I have my script I need to get somewhere to shoot it and something to shoot it with. At this moment I have a Canon Rebel T2i and it is looking like the best choice. The canon T2i is a great SLR that has the performance of a 7d but is lighter and less durable.

 Specs on the Rebel here if you are interested

      This weekend the location I want to shot at needs to be contacted and set up a time to discuss shooting. I’m not going to reviele my story but one of the locations is a Bowling Ally. I’m hoping that when I call this local one in my hometown they will be more than happy to let us use the place afterhours. On top of location I also need to find cast and crew. On top of getting the crew and actors, the only way ill get this done is with a little bit of cash. In my hometown there are a few local places I know the owners to and will see if I can gather funds. My goal is to get 3,000 dollars for the pilot’s budget.

 http://livingspirit.typepad.com/blog/2007/06/out-of-the-blue.html here is the link for the book

Change

Well every I have decided that my script writing skills are not up to Par. I started looking around Campus and met a new friend who is actually good at writing, we are meeting today and I can’t wait. Other than that I found a website called Tongal and am entering a video into the contest this weekend. If you are looking for a way to earn extra cash video contest are where its at. This website for example is a great way to get your ideas out there and get money for it. So you click on a brand or a contest and there are different phases like concept and pitch, etc.. well if you submit a concept and it is a finalist you win money and a little prize but say someone used your concept to make their video, well that is another chunk of change and it is an awesome way to get more people involved and have better commercials. For the commercial I am doing I didn’t have to think of the idea I just looked at the concept and found one that I could see shot for shot in my head and now I am shooting it this weekend. SUPER EXCITING! Here is the contest website if anyone is interested.

After one of my classes in my master's program I realized I can't be the jack of all trades and other people can do things for me a lot better and I need to hire these people and connect with these people. The motivation today is high! 

Schedule for this week:

Today- Meeting with writer

Thursday-Finishing storyboards for commercial

Friday- Shooting

Saturday- retake day if needed

Sunday- Get someone to edit it!

 Click here for the link to tongal!